Merchandising strips for hanging packages of merchandise for display are common in retail establishments. Typically, these strips include a plurality of hooks, tabs, or clips to which packaged merchandise can be selectively attached and removed by a customer. These strips are particularly useful in providing a merchandise display near check-out lines and cash registers, allowing purchasers to select additional products while standing in line.
While merchandise strips of the type described above are suitable to provide a display of packaged products, there are a number of disadvantages associated with these types of product displays. For example, to refill the display, it is necessary for an employee to physically hang the packages on the clips or hooks of the strip. Maintaining the display therefore can be time consuming, labor-intensive, and expensive. Retailers, therefore, prefer merchandising strips which are pre-loaded with products, such that products can be displayed with a minimal amount of labor.
Pre-stocked merchandising strips, however, pose a challenge to the producers and shippers of products. Pre-stocked merchandising strips, for example, add an additional step to the production process, requiring additional labor and therefore adding cost to the product. Furthermore, pre-stocked strips can be difficult to package, particularly when products are of an irregular shape or size. Additionally, hanging items which are not well-secured can shift during shipping, causing damage to the products and the associated strip, and causing the weight of the package to shift.
Because of these problems, a sub-industry of xe2x80x9cjobbersxe2x80x9d has developed. Jobbers buy in bulk, load products on strips, then deliver the loaded strips to retailers. Jobbers, however, do not provide an acceptable solution to problems associated with merchandising strips because they add additional cost to the product, increase the lead time for delivery of products, and complicate the maintenance of stock for merchandisers.
There remains a need, therefore, for a satisfactory method for packaging and shipping products on a merchandise strip.
The present invention is a foldable merchandising strip which, when folded, provides a compact package of products for shipping and, when unfolded, provides a hanging display of products. The merchandising strip is particularly well suited for use in conjunction with products packaged in packages that include an elongated aperture or slot at an upper end for hanging the product to a hook or other mounting device.
The merchandising strip of the present invention generally comprises an elongated strip separated into fold sections by a plurality of horizontal fold lines provided across the width of the strip. The fold lines are disposed at spaced intervals along the length of the elongated strip, such that the merchandising strip can be fan-folded for shipping. A pair of retaining tabs for hanging the product and for limiting movement of the package during shipping are disposed in alternate fold sections. One of the retaining tabs is directed upward for receiving the upper edge of an aperture in a package, and the other retaining tab is directed downward for folding over the lower edge of the aperture.
In use, the product is coupled to the merchandising strip by sliding the aperture or slot in the package over the first, or upwardly-directed retaining tab until the upper edge of the aperture rests against the retaining tab. The second, or downwardly-directed retaining tab is then folded over the lower edge of the aperture. The upwardly-directed retaining tab limits motion of the package in a downwardly vertical direction, while the downwardly-directed retaining tab limits motion of the package in an upwardly vertical direction. The width of the upwardly-directed retaining tab can be selected to be substantially equivalent to that of the aperture in the package, such that the upwardly-directed retaining tab further limits motion of the package horizontally.
For shipping, the merchandising strip is fan-folded to provide a small, stable, and easy-to ship package in which layers of products are aligned and maintained in position both horizontally and vertically by the retaining tabs. Upon receipt at a retail outlet, a merchandiser unfolds the merchandising strip. The products can then be hung from a hook or other mounting device for display.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which there is shown by way of illustration a preferred embodiment of the invention. Such embodiment does not necessarily represent the full scope of the invention, however, and reference is made therefore to the claims herein for interpreting the scope of the invention.